CHSP Dr. Robert Wayner shares medical expertise on the world stage

Robert Wayne

OHIO clinical professor Robert Wayner traveled to Eugene, Oregon this summer to provide hands-on athletic medical care at the World Athletics Championships, one of the largest sporting events in the world.

The World Athletics Championships are similar to the Olympics but focus solely on track and field events. The 10-day competition has been around since 1983 and takes place every two years. This is the first time it has taken place on US soil, where it was held July 15-24 at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. This year, delegations came from more than 200 countries and over 2,000 athletes.

“My job was to provide sports medicine when needed,” Wayner said.

Wayner is an Associate Clinical Professor in the College of Health Sciences and Professions and Director of Ohio University’s Gait Lab, which provides analysis of the biomechanics of human gait. He primarily teaches graduate students with an emphasis on orthopedic clinical skills.

At the World Athletics Championships, Wayner provided medical assistance to any athlete who needed it. He worked from 8am to 8pm at the event’s three medical sites, providing care both before and after the competition. Wayner provided medical assistance to all athletes, regardless of their team, noting that some countries did not have their own medical support staff.

“It was a great time,” Wayner said.

As a former track and field athlete and competitive runner, working at the World Athletics Championships was a monumental moment in Wayner’s career. Not only has he been able to apply his deep understanding of physical therapy directly to some of the world’s top athletes, but he has also been able to follow the championship and see how athletes from different parts of the world train.

This isn’t Wayner’s first major sporting event. He worked at the 2014 World Junior Athletics Championships, also held in Eugene, which is similar to the World Athletics Championships but only opens those aged 20 and under. He has also worked on US Olympic Trials. However, this is his biggest event to date.

Prior to teaching at OHIO in 2014, Wayner previously worked in Eugene in outpatient physical therapy at Cooperative Performance & Rehabilitation with a practice specializing in running-related injuries and balance and vestibular disorders. He also completed two years of orthopedic and manual physical therapy training with Therapeutic Associates, also located in Eugene.

Because of his career in physical therapy, he has developed long-standing relationships with other clinicians working on the event. Some of his connections stretch back two decades, as he was first made two decades ago as a student in OHIO, where Wayner earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

For Wayner, getting out of the classroom and offering physical therapy is not only a way to stay connected to his workspace, but also a learning opportunity that he hopes to bring back into his classroom.

“For me, it’s just a chance to stay in touch with something that I really enjoy doing,” he said.

Going forward, Wayner hopes to continue providing medical assistance at major sporting events like the World Athletics Championships. The 2028 Summer Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, California, he noted.